Since we're in the spirit of SUV's I just thought I'd post this incase anyone hasn't seen this yet. What do you guys think about this RV. This project surely negates FoA sending the Raptor to the US doesn't it??

The Ford CrossTrainer – designed to combine Ford’s SUV and family car leadership in a new vehicle unlike anything else on the market – will be built at the Chicago Assembly Plant beginning in 2004, the company confirmed today.

Nick Scheele, Ford Motor Company president and chief operating officer, told Chicago area employees at the Chicago Auto Show today that the new CrossTrainer – and their manufacturing facility – will be cornerstones in Ford’s product-led transformation and one of the 20 new products the company will introduce each year through 2005.

Scheele also displayed a designer’s sketch of the seven-passenger, three-row vehicle, heralding the CrossTrainer as part of Ford’s promise for more great products built with outstanding quality coming in the near future.

“The Ford CrossTrainer combines the best attributes of a sedan and sport utility providing room for up to seven passengers and their cargo,” Scheele said. “The Chicago Assembly Plant has a reputation as one of our highest quality, most efficient plants. When we introduce the new CrossTrainer, it also will become a benchmark in our new flexible manufacturing system.”

CrossTrainer will be an all-new addition to the Ford lineup. The Taurus, one of the best-selling cars in America, will remain in the lineup – and continue to be produced at Ford’s Atlanta Assembly Plant.

All-New Segment

The Ford CrossTrainer is designed to meet the needs of an emerging group of car customers who want the image and advantages of a sport utility, but don’t necessarily need the off-road and heavy-duty towing capabilities associated with sport utility vehicles.

CrossTrainer will efficiently carry up to seven adults and their cargo in its three-row seating configuration. It will be available in front and all-wheel drive.

“This new car is part of a new segment that is one of the major growth opportunities in the coming years,” said Scheele. “The Ford CrossTrainer is designed to provide customers with the right blend of comfort, safety, sportiness, efficiency and versatility in the right package.”

All-New Vehicle

The new Ford CrossTrainer is based on an all-new, purpose-built architecture with unitized body construction.

Unibody construction eliminates the need for a separate structural frame by designing the supporting structure into the body parts, thus saving weight and adding much desired rigidity, which delivers better ride and handling qualities. Unibody construction is a key for this crossover vehicle because it allows the desired ground clearance with a lower step-in height many car customers prefer.

CrossTrainer’s engineers designed the vehicle to combine the rugged styling a sport utility with the benefits of a sporty sedan – including the lower step-in, low levels of noise, vibration and harshness, agile handling, performance feel and fuel efficiency.

All-New Powertrain

The CrossTrainer will feature a V-6 engine and new continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The CVT will provide exceptionally smooth operation and deliver up to a 10 percent fuel economy improvement over a traditional powertrain. The CVT in the CrossTrainer is the first North American application of the new, technologically advanced transmissions developed and produced under Ford’s joint venture with ZF, the world’s largest independent specialist for driveline and chassis technology.

New Manufacturing Solutions

The CrossTrainer will begin production at the Chicago Assembly Plant in 2004. When the plant is reconfigured for CrossTrainer, it will feature the first nearby automotive supplier manufacturing park in North America and a flexible body shop that allows one set of tooling to build multiple vehicle configurations. Chicago Assembly’s flexible body shop strategy will allow the plant to better match its output with customer demand.

Ford Motor Co.'s Cross-Trainer — the multi-purpose 7-passenger cross/utility vehicle unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show — will have an all-new muscular sedan as its platform mate, WAW has learned.

CrossTrainer, codenamed D219, will be built at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant in 2004 as an '05 model. Rolling out of the same plant will be the D258, described by a Ford source as looking “like a Lincoln LS on steroids.” In broadest strokes, its target demographic is males.

Ford confirms it has additional product plans for Chicago Assembly but won't disclose details. “We're only announcing the crossover vehicle,” says Ford President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele. “We have other plans, which we are not announcing at this juncture.”

The CrossTrainer, to be powered by a V-6 engine, will be the first Ford vehicle to feature a continuously variable transmission from the new ZF Batavia LLC plant in Batavia, OH, jointly owned by Ford and ZF. The CVT will be standard equipment.

The unibody architecture for CrossTrainer is all new. Ford Div. President James O'Connor says the front-wheel-drive CrossTrainer will be part sedan, part SUV and part minivan, with seating for seven. All-wheel drive will be optional. Its nearest competitor, he says, is the Chrysler Pacifica sports tourer that goes into production a year earlier: in January 2003 as an '04 model.

The announcement is welcome news for Ford Chicago workers who recently learned production of Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable will be shifted to Atlanta, GA. As part of the changeover to CrossTrainer, Ford is grouping key suppliers for the vehicle in a new flexible manufacturing campus under construction near the vehicle assembly plant.

It is not clear how many suppliers will locate in the park. The facility, expected to be completed within 18 months, will create 800 to 1,000 new jobs. Employment levels at Chicago Assembly Plant will remain stable, Ford says.

Originally posted by ehaase Ford Motor Co.'s Cross-Trainer — the multi-purpose 7-passenger cross/utility vehicle unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show — will have an all-new muscular sedan as its platform mate..

God I hope what I'm thinking is right. Then again even to have Falcon built in America would be a win for Ford Australia. Just shows that the guys at Ford Oz are right up there in terms of vehicle design & manufacture.

Originally posted by FM
God I hope what I'm thinking is right. Then again even to have Falcon built in America would be a win for Ford Australia. Just shows that the guys at Ford Oz are right up there in terms of vehicle design & manufacture.

Id like to think that, but I also can't help thinking that FoA will have a great deal less to do with the Falcon than the US soon.

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